Kentucky forward Willie Cauley-Stein (15) slam dunks in hisgame against LSU in Baton Rouge, La., in this Feb. 10, 2015, file photo. Kentucky's tall and talented men's basketball team can reach the two-thirds mark of its quest for an 18-0 sweep through the Southeastern Conference on Saturday afternoon when the No. 1 Wildcats host South Carolina.
A win Saturday also would allow Kentucky to tie a school standard with a 25-0 start, but are foes of the Wildcats getting closer to knocking off the sport's Goliath? Kentucky pulled away late for a 68-61 win at Florida last Saturday night and escaped LSU 71-69 in Baton Rouge on Tuesday night.
"There are going to be things that they are going to do," Florida coach Billy Donovan said this week. "They are going to go inside, so you make a decision on how you want to play post defense in terms of post traps or where you're coming off of different people. Yet if you take away their low post, I think they're a better shooting team this year than maybe they've been the last couple of years.
"The game really starts with them when the ball goes up on the glass, so it's not a thing of where you're going to take away this guy or that guy. It's more of what do you want to take away, because they're going to basically be three out and two in."
The Wildcats' last two games were the closest calls since they opened SEC play with an overtime win over visiting Ole Miss and a double-overtime escape at Texas A&M. The tightest contest for John Calipari's Wildcats before league play was their 58-50 win at Louisville on Dec. 27.
Seconds after escaping Baton Rouge, Calipari said the experience was good for his team, a remark he has echoed after most conference games this season.
"This league from top to bottom is the best since I've been here," Calipari said. "Everyone in our league knows how good Vanderbilt is and how they could beat anyone. They had us on the ropes when we were home. They can beat anyone, but they're very, very young.
"Look at Mississippi State and the job Rick (Ray) is doing. You look up and down, and there are no easy games."
Kentucky's toughest tests down the stretch appear to be against Arkansas, which visits Lexington on Feb. 28, and at Georgia on March 3. The Bulldogs lost 69-58 at Rupp Arena last week but were within five late in the game and played without leading scorer and rebounder Marcus Thornton.
The Wildcats also have a trip to Tennessee next Tuesday and end their regular season with a visit from Donovan's Gators, but time is beginning to run out on SEC teams looking to derail their march to perfection.
"Obviously Kentucky has sort of separated themselves from the rest of the world," Vanderbilt coach Kevin Stallings said, "and it's not only from our league but everybody else's league as well."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.